Seeking Chanakya’s Wisdom

Bestselling author Radhakrishnan Pillai’s book Chanakya in Daily Life, published by Rupa Publications India, is a fascinating way to sail through the tough times. Sapna Sarfare interviews the author regarding the book, being a best-selling author and more.

                Radhakrishnan Pillai

A simple question – how much can a book help in leading better life?

Books have always been sources to lead a better life. Across cultures & generations, we find books have helped people to make themselves better and have good quality of life. For eg., the Gita, Ramayana, Panchatantra, etc have been eternal books that have helped our nation stand the test of time.

How is this book different from the self-help books around?

My book ‘Chanakya in Daily Life’ is not a self-proclaimed theory of success. This is based on the ancient wisdom of Chanakya given in his Arthashastra that was written 2400 years ago. So, in reality there is no invention or nothing new as such. But, there is a discovery of many principles when are not just ancient but also eternal.

In this book, I have taken the liberty to modify the thoughts of Chanakya to our generation. You will find that the original quotes of Chanakya is used, and then given to readers in simple format that they can practice in their daily lives.

Please do tell the readers as to how the book will affect them in their daily life.

The book is divided into 3 parts – Personal life, Family life & Professional life. We all play these roles simultaneously at any given point of time. And the challenge is to balance all of them. One cannot be a successful professional and not give time to one’s family. On the other side, one cannot be a good family man without providing a decent income for this family needs, so the person has to be successful professionally also.

So in this book we have 69 short chapters dealing with day to day challenges. How to wake up in the morning, how to take care of health, how to plan your finances, taking a family vacation etc… One would be surprised that Chanakya offers solutions to many such areas of our daily lives. The best part is that each chapter can be read in 3 minutes. So take up a chapter a day – practice it and find success.

What makes Chanakya an excellent guru and still relevant to someone on higher position and layman?

Chanakya is relevant to the kings (those in higher positions) and also to the commoners (layman). The beauty is that any person at any stage of life can get guidance from his wisdom. Chanakya was a wise person. He thought of the total happiness of everyone. He wanted India to be healthy & wealthy country and be built on spiritual principals. For him, ethics and moral standards was the most important priority. Therefore, times may change yet Chanakya’s thoughts are relevant even today.

Quite a few management gurus have become the byword for writing spiritual/self-help books. How?

Where there is a demand there is a supply. Similarly it shows that since self-help books are doing well, our society needs many authors for writing in that area. However, look at the other side, not all self-help books do well. Those management gurus, who have done good research and also have experience in that field, are the ones who are in demand.

Self-help books also inspire people when they are low and down emotionally. They get a direction and path in their lives. There are many people who were contemplating suicide and then a few lines from a self-help book they read motivated them to live a purposeful life.

What kind of books keep you going?

I like to read all kinds of books. Reading for me is like a daily capsule. Without reading a few chapters of a book, not a single day of my book is complete. It is food for thought. Primarily I read more management, self-help and spiritual books (which is my area of writing too). But I do read novels, text books, academic journals (since I am a professor at University of Mumbai) and also poetry and drama. Nowadays lots of new & upcoming authors send me their books to be endorsed. So I read all those first time written books too.

A little bit of self-analysis – what makes you & your books so popular among the masses?

This is god’s grace. I have been very fortunate that all my books have been bestsellers. And continue to be even after 7 years (Corporate Chanakya – my 1^st book, continues to grow in its sales).

Out of over 10,000 books published each year in India, not all become best sellers. There are various factors that make it one. The most important one is a ‘connect’ to the readers. If the reader does not feel connected to the writing, he or she will lose interest after a few pages.

My writing style is simple and reader-friendly. Even though my books are for the intellectual readers, it is read by an 8 year old kid and also an 80 year old wise person. My readers have given me feedback that when they read the book, they feel I am telling their story. This is important.

My book ‘Chanakya in You’ got the Crossword Raymond Popular Book award. I was surprised the way readers have responded. They connected with each character in the book. This is true even for ‘Chanakya in Daily Life’ – you will feel connected that Chanakya is addressing your personal problems. And that is where the book becomes popular and successful.

Lastly, apart from the gyaan in the book, what else can anyone take from your present book?

Fun. My books are not just about Gyaan but enjoying life in totality. Life cannot be boring. It has to have an element of fun and joy. In my books I have always insisted people to have a ‘full’ life rather than just a regretting life. Listen to music, laugh at yourself, go on vacations, take a break, and spend time with your friends and family. Life cannot be dull; it has to have lot of positivity too. From my present book ‘Chanakya in Daily Life’ I say don’t just lead a successful life – lead a happy life…

BOOK TITLE: Chanakya in Daily Life

AUTHOR: Radhakrishnan Pillai

PUBLISHER: Rupa Publications India

PAGES: 285

PRICE: Rs. 295

The art of writing for the ‘normal’

British author Lisa Williamson speaks to Sapna Sarfare about her novel The Art of Being Normal which deals with youngster dealing with gender identity and need to get acceptability for who they really are.

Lisa Williamson

Some books just connect from the moment you read the first sentence. One such book has been The Art of Being Normal by British author Lisa Williamson which is a remarkable story of friendship. David Piper has a secret known to few – he wants to be girl. He meets Leo Denton who prefers being invisible to hide a secret. Their friendship begins when Leo saves David from a bully. But it also has to go through some fire. Will they know each other’s secret? What happens if others know about it? The story is about 2 people with dreams which others might not understand.

A native of Nottingham, Lisa trained as an actor before discovering the writer within. She also worked at London-based Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) which helps underage kids deal with gender identity. She speaks about her debut novel, the thought behind it and more.

I loved the book. It read like a page out of real life yet was fiction. How did that happen?             

I don’t know! I think my lack of planning actually perhaps works in my favour sometimes. I tend to start writing not necessarily knowing where the story will go. As a result, I think the action tends to unfold in quite an authentic and organic way. I also always remember something a creative writing once said, and that was to include lots of ‘strange but true’ details in your work. Life is weird, people are weird, even the ones to seem really ordinary. We all have our strange little quirks and habits so I always try to include as many of these as possible. I also always aim to end chapters on, not a cliffhanger, exactly, but with an unanswered question in the air. 

The story was different & touching. Was there any reason of picking it for your debut novel?

Yes. I was directly inspired by the young people I met through my job at the time – as administrator for the Gender Identity Development Service. I was struck by the lack of fiction featuring transgender characters, particularly aimed at a young adult audience. The books I did find tended to be quite gloomy so I set about writing an entertaining, engrossing book that explored gender identity in a way that I felt reflected some of the experiences the young trans people I’d met had had. I didn’t want it to be defined by one theme/issue. Above all, it’s a book about being a teenager and all the ups & downs this brings. 

While writing, what were the struggles you faced, as the theme is of one lead character wanting to be a girl and another hiding a secret?

I struggle with plotting. I don’t like to plot in advance because I feel it stifles me and often forces me down paths that don’t feel right. At the same time, it’s quite scary not knowing where your story is going! For ages, Leo and David lived in separate cities and I spend weeks and weeks trying to come up with realistic ways for them to meet. I then decided to have them attend the same school but again it took ages to work out how to make their lives collide without sacrificing the authenticity. On the other hand, I actually found keeping Leo’s secret very fun! I liked dropping in little clues along the way and building up to the reveal. 

I loved the fact that the topic dealt with issues like bullying, transgender people, school life, teenage issues and society in a sensitive yet light manner. How did the process go in your mind before writing?

I always wanted the book to be sensitive yet not weighed down by any one issue or theme. Life is full of light and shade so I wanted the book to reflect this. I also knew from the start that I wanted a happy, hopeful ending so even when I was writing a painful scene, at the back of my mind I knew things were ultimately going to be okay. 

How are the issues in your book seen in the west?

Things have changed a lot since I started writing the book (in 2012). There has been a huge increase in the coverage of trans issues in the arts and media and although prejudice remains, the response has been largely positive. By making trans people and issues relevant to them mainstream and visible, it’s helping to remove the sense of fear and the unknown that so many people base their prejudices on. I’ve had lots of lovely emails about the book. Equally, I’m aware I’m in a bit of a bubble. The majority of my friends are very open and liberal so it’s often shocking to me when I realise how prevalent trans phobia still is. Things are improving (slowly) but there is still a lot of prejudice and ignorance. We’ve come a long way in a short space of time but there’s still so much to do. 

How has the response been to the book? Any response which touched you or even made you think?

It's been really, really lovely! I’ve had lots of emails and tweets that have touched me deeply. I’ve had messages from young trans people saying it’s helped them come out to friends and family; others say it’s helped just knowing it exists and is sold in mainstream high street bookshops. I’ve also had messages from older trans people saying they wish they’d had a book like it when they were younger. 

What’s your next book going to be?  

My next book is called All About Mia and is out in February 2017. It’s about a girl called Mia who is a middle child, sandwiched between two very impressive sisters. 

BOOK: The Art of Being Normal

AUTHOR: Lisa Williamson

GENRE: Young Fiction

LANGUAGE: English

PUBLICATION: David Fickling Books

PAGES: 353 

Interview of Author Vikram Balagopal

For author Vikram Balagopal, his book Savage Blue is an escapist fantasy adventure meant to be read for fun, but still addresses many world issues. He speaks to Sapna Sarfare about the book & more

Vikram Balagopal

Literature always welcomes newer pens with open hand and readers always look forward to something new. Adding to this list, HarperCollins Publishers India is presenting Vikram Balagopal’s Savage Blue, a book exploring environmental issues with feminism in an interesting manner. Balagopal is an award winning author, illustrator, a cartoonist, a film-maker and a published poet who previous attempt at writing is an award-winning graphic novel Simian.

One is really intrigued by Savage Blue, which is depicted as an escapist fantasy adventure with romance in the present era. Vikram adds, “Savage Blue is an escapist fantasy adventure meant to be read for fun, but within its story I still wanted to address many of the issues in our world. The relationship between the two main characters, Akila and Shyam, and keeping that real was what mattered most to me. There is love and sex but it is far from a fairytale romance.”

With Savage Blue, Vikram feels readers will connect with the lead in their own way and he wants to know the connection is more on which side. “Every day of our lives we all know what it is to be trapped in something, be it tradition or debt or social norms or our own insecurities and that desire to break free is universal.” 

The idea for the novel came from Vikram’s need to write a present-day fantasy, which took time to develop & be written. One sense Savage Blue is Vikram’s efforts to showcase himself as a multi-faceted writer. “I’ve worked as a screenwriter and filmmaker before I did my graphic novel Simian. I’ve never chosen to do something one way or another simply for the sake of doing it differently. In the case of Simian, I felt that the story suited a graphic novel best in the way I wanted to tell it, and now with Savage Blue, it came to me as a novel. That doesn’t mean I can’t adapt it later to another medium. It is just that this is its original form.”

Ramayan was the base of his graphic novel Simian, but from Hanuman’s point of view. Vikram divulges, “The story in Simian, where Bhima and Hanuman meet, has existed as a part of the Mahabharata and I’ve seen it performed in Kathakali as well, where it is called Kalyana Sougandhikam. It is a famous episode in the epic and when my grandmother used to tell me bedtime stories it was the one I requested most often, along with other stories of Hanuman. In it, Hanuman and Bhima have a chance meeting in the jungle. They have a connection because they are both sons of the wind god Vayu, and when Hanuman learns of the troubles the Pandavas have had to endure in their escalating conflict with the Kauravas, and he sees Bhima’s lust for vengeance, he tries to persuade him that violence and war is not the answer. He has personal experience of it from the Great War between Ram and Ravan and he shares his wisdom with Bhima that war is unpredictable, leading to the participants compromising on their morals, and then spending the rest of their lives living with the consequences of their decisions. And the best way for him to illustrate this is to tell Bhima what really happened the only way he can, through his eyes. Simian was not done with the purpose of being another point of view, but it is instead a quest to understand and dig deeper into this thing called war that touches and shapes our world every single day.” 

Good writers are avid readers, of course. One thinks that the writer might have different topics to read through as a reader. Vikram responds, “That’s a difficult question to answer because my selections as a reader are so eclectic and this is only my second book, so it’s too soon to tell.” He does think there are a lot of new Indian writers who can be described as wonderful. This makes his reading queue quite long. His only remorse is, “I only wish I could read faster and that I had more time for it.”

As a trained filmmaker, he is constantly working on film projects. As for his next from his pen, he reveals that he is waiting to see.

Book Photo Credit: https://booksandstrips.wordpress.com/tag/savage-blue/ 

BOOK: Savage Blue 

AUTHOR: Vikram Balagopal

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins Publishers India 

PAGES: 416

PRICE: Rs. 399

RELEASE DATE: September, 2016

Indian Cuisine Deciphered

Writer Colleen Taylor Sen speaks to Sapna Sarfare regarding her latest book Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India which reveals Indian cuisine like no other book.

Much has been written about Indian cuisine. Yet, not all these books & their authors can claim to be an authority on the subject. Colleen Taylor Sen is an exception. A Canadian-American translator & author, Colleen has written vastly on Indian cuisine including 6 books. Despite her Slavic Studies educational background, it is her prolific writing on different topics she is renowned for.

Her latest book, Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India explores Indian cuisine keeping in mind India’s religious, social and other growth, along with topics like vegetarianism, street food, festivals & food, and so on. Colleen speaks about this project which puts focus on Indian cuisine once again.

A lot is always being spoken about Indian cuisine. How does your book differ in that sense?

Despite the growing surge of interest in Indian cuisine and history, the only other comprehensive work on the subject is the late K.T. Achaya’s wonderful book Indian Food, written over 20 years ago in 1994, and followed by his Historical Dictionary of Indian Food (1998). By contrast, dozens of books have been written on the history of other national cuisines. Achaya’s book covers the food of certain regions in depth, especially his native Karnataka, but devotes less attention to other cuisines such as Bengali, Assamese and tribal cuisines. I know that my own book has similar shortcomings and hope that many other people are inspired to write histories of not just Indian cuisine but their regional and even local cuisines, drawing upon original sources.

What are the aspects of the book which will tempt food lovers and readers alike?

The book has a lot of anecdotes, historic recipes, and even poems. My favorites include an ode to ghee from the Rig Veda and a whimsical argument among leafy vegetables about which is the superior in a 16^th century Sanskrit treatise called the Ksemakutuhalam (Diet and Wellbeing.). Feasts and Fasts is also lavishly illustrated with photographs and paintings. 

How tough was it to write a book like this considering the sheer vastness of the cuisine?

Colleen Taylor Sen

It was very challenging. I have been writing about Indian food for over 30 years and accumulated a lot of material in the process, but  it still required a great deal of research. It took me three years to write it. I was limited to translations into English but on occasion asked native speakers, such as my husband who is Bengali and a friend who is a professor of Sanskrit for help. Some of the existing translations are poor because the translators were not cooks and didn’t know how to translate culinary terms. 

Any aspect(s) which surprised or amused you?

I was surprised by many things. Some people think that Kebabs came with the Mughals, but in fact, meal grilled on skewers over a fire goes back thousands of years to Vedic times. Also, in classical Ayurvedic medicine, meat and even alcohol was part of some cures. As an 11^th century Ayurvedic physician wrote, “The recommendations of medicine are not intended to help someone achieve virtue (dharma). What are they for, then? They are aimed at achieving health.”

Your educational background is different from what you write currently. How did the process towards writing on food start?

Although my educational background is in Slavic languages, I was familiar with the techniques of scholarly research and writing and this was very helpful. I started writing about Indian food for newspapers and magazines in the United States decades ago, when very few people were doing so, and eventually adopted a more scholarly approach to the subject by writing several books.

Has your foray into writing about Indian food come from the fact that you are married to an Indian?

It very much comes into it. My husband is Bengali and has been very interested in food since childhood. His late mother Arati Sen was a well known Bengali journalist who wrote a widely-read column in the magazine Desh under the pen name Srimati. She wrote a lot about food and even introduced me to the late Kundal Lal Gujral, founder of the iconic Moti Mahal restaurant. 

Indian food still has not reached the global status. As an authority on Indian cuisine, what do think?

That is a very good and much debated question which Professor Krishnendu Ray explores in his recent book Ethnic Food. In the United Kingdom, Indian food is, of course, very popular both as an everyday food and as haute cuisine. London alone has several Michelin-starred Indian restaurants. In the United States, Indian food is less popular. One reason is that India is less familiar to Americans than to the British for whom it is part of their history. Another is that other cuisines have long gained a popular foothold in the U.S., especially Chinese, Mexican and Thai. I believe that one way Indian food will become more popular here is via street food both in food trucks and restaurants that serve Kathi Rolls and other wraps, Bhelpuri, and similar dishes.

Colleen Taylor Sen’s latest book Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India is out in the market. Visit her website www.colleensen.com for more information on her and her work.

Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India

AUTHOR: Colleen Taylor Sen

PUBLISHER: Reaktion Books

PUBLISHED: January 2015

GENRE: Food, History, Culture

LANGUAGE: English 

PRICE: Rs 562

PAGES: 352 

Investigating Tarquin Hall

Journalist & writer Tarquin Hall is popular for his creation – Vish Puri, India’s Most Private Investigator. He speaks to Sapna Sarfare about the character, writing, popularity & much more

Tarquin Hall

Over the years, I have realised that writing is not an easy job. If you are an author writing in another country, the task is humungous. You have the locals to please, apart from staying away from any prejudices. Amongst successful authors residing & writing in India writing is British journalist & writer Tarquin Hall who has been associated with India through his journalistic work. Having done some impressive features, he has several articles to his name in British newspapers & magazines.

Most Indians identify him as the creator of Vish Puri, a Dilliwala who happens to be India’s Most Private Investigator. Starting from his first Vish Puri mystery novel The Case of the Missing Servant (2009), he has cultivated a fan following with three more novels – The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing (2010), The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken (2012) and The Case of the Love Commandos (2013). Busy man that he is, a short & sweet email interview introduces the man behind the pen.

This half-British & half-American writer is married to an Indian. His childhood & later writing led him to different places. One is sure that this must have had a profound effect over his writing & general outlook. Tarquin reveals, “My parents always mixed with lots of people from different countries when I was a kid and up until the age of 10, I was in schools in London with kids from all over. My mother hung curtains in my bedroom with caricatures of children from Europe, America, Asia, the Middle East, etc. I guess her aim was to emphasise that we are all members of a larger community. I also had a godfather who collected folk tales from all over the world and recorded them on audiocassette and I often listened to them. My father would also read me store from World Tales by Idries Shah, which I loved.” 

In his words, despite growing up in England, he learnt the important fact that there is a whole world out there to explore and that we share the same planet & common humanity in every way possible. “The moment I turned 18 I was off, I wanted to see all of it.” Larger causes are in smaller things, indeed.

Vish Puri connected with Indian readers quickly. One cannot imagine of how a character like Vish Puri came up. To quote Tarquin, Vish Puri owes his existence to his inspiration from real life detectives interviewed while writing an article for The Sunday Times in UK. His article was on Indian detectives investigating for parents on prospective brides & grooms in arranged marriages. “What came across to me was how these detectives were dealing with any number of incredible, unlikely & sometimes downright bizarre cases as well. I did not think when I was doing the story that I would take it further and start writing detective novels. In fact, I had never really considered doing fiction. One day in London, I was walking along the street and suddenly thought to myself, “You know what? This is a brilliant way to describe modern India today”. I dashed into a shop, bought a notebook and started outlining the character, his helpers and the bare bones of the first case.  That’s how Vish was born.”

Vish Puri stories might seem typical. Dig deep and his stories amuse people, interest them and get them involved in the story at once. Writers find it tough to avoid clichés and just write what they think is right. Tarquin begs to differ. “In some ways, I don’t mind dealing in generalisations. I think they’re very useful for people to grasp the basic about a society. I honestly try not to be too hung up on what other people consider authentic. However, I do try to make the books ring true as much as possible, while accepting the fact that I’m an outsider and am mostly writing for other outsiders. My aim is to interest people in India, show them what a complex & extraordinary place it is, and how much it’s changing is some ways and not in others. I try to pack the books with different aspects of the culture & cultural phenomenon each time. The plot is always secondary to that,” he divulges.

Success has come well for Vish Puri. Tarquin has been getting mails & messages on social media about the books’ popularity. “When the first book came out, I was terrified that Indian readers would hate it. You never know how people are going to react. It’s one thing sitting on your own bashing away at a keyboard but then suddenly your words are published, they’re out there and others can read them. And you think, oh crap, what are they going to make of it?  But I’ve had so many Indian readers write to me or tell me how much they’ve enjoyed or even loved the series that I feel very comfortable now. I think generally they emphasise with Vish Puri because he’s a decent man having to deal with obstacles that they recognise. They like the humour, too. If they’re especially from northern India, they’ve all got an uncle like VP - a thoroughly honest bloke – a bit pompous and very fond of his khaana & the odd non-veg joke,” he happily writes.     

 

Vish Puri mystery books are not Tarquin’s only claim to fame. He has a few books on Indian sub-continent too. There is that non-fiction book To the Elephant Graveyard which speaks about his journey in Assam with Dinesh Choudhury, an elephant hunter. He recounts, “I wrote it because it was an incredible adventure and I had a lot to say about the plight of elephants & the way nature is under assault. I suppose there was quite a bit in there about human nature as well. The other book you are referring to is Salaam Brick Lane. That is about my time living in the London’s East End amongst a mostly immigrant population. It was conceptualised in the sense that I lived through that experience and then decided to write a book about it.”

Having caught our imagination, Tarquin is finally coming out with yet another creation. His next book, The Delhi Detective’s Handbook, has just got over. “I should say Vish Puri has completed it as it’s entirely written in his voice. It’s been tremendous fun to do. There are sections on the history of spycraft in India, the best disguises, how to trail people through Indian traffic, how to grow a proper moustache. There’s also a section on where to find the best snack food when conducting a stakeout. It is going to be out soon. Meanwhile, I have been working on other projects. I have come up with four new Puri novel ideas and am aiming to get to work on the next soon. The working title is The Case of the Bombay Duck.”

Some writers just know what readers want. Tarquin Hall is one of such successful gentleman. Lucky, eh!